Four Indian farmers and farm workers, including two brothers, have died after drowning in a slurry tank on a northern Italian farm.
The men, all Indian citizens from the Punjab region, were overcome by carbon dioxide fumes from the cow manure on the Pavia-based farm.
Owners Prem and Tarsem Singh, aged 48 and 45 respectively, were the two brothers who had registered their farm two years ago.
The other two men who died were farm workers Arminder Singh, 29, and Majinder Singh, 28.
According to media reports, the business is one of the biggest milk and veal producing farms in the region.
The wives of the men alerted authorities when they failed to turn up to a meal on Thursday (12 September).
The women went to the farm and saw one body in the sewage.
Firefighters then arrived and emptied the slurry tank to recover all the bodies.
In the UK, slurry is one of the four main causes of death and serious injury on farms.
The slurry mixing code recommends that those individuals involved in the mixing of slurry:
• Keep children away from the area at all times when working with slurry
• Mix on a windy day
• Open all doors
• Take all animals out of the building before starting to mix slurry
• Use outside mixing points first
• If slats are removed, cover exposed areas of the tank beside the pump/mixer to stop anything falling in
Farmers should not re-enter the building to:
• Start the pump/mixer
• If at any time, you have to go into the building try to make sure that another adult knows what you are doing and can get help if necessary
• If you have to re-enter to move the pump or change the direction of the pump, leave the building as soon as this is done, and do not go back in for as long as possible or at least 30 minutes
• Mix slurry on a windy day
• Open all doors
• Take animals out of the building before commencing mixing
• Use outside mixing points
• Cover any exposed areas of the tank
• Ensure that another adult is aware of your whereabouts
